Hi there. I have just decided that I need AND want to get into reloading. I have already ordered a reloading "kit." I plan to reload .45 ACP to start out with and then move up to .223 and eventually .308. What is the going rate for once fired or slightly more used .45 ACP brass (per casing)? I found quite a bit on ebay and the pricing seems to be around $.07 - $.08 per case with shipping. Is this a fair price or should I look elsewhere? What am I looking at in terms of cost (per round) when you add in an average priced powder, case, primer, and lead bullet? I don't wanna end up spending MORE on reloading than factory rounds! Right now, I can get factory .45 rounds in town for $.23 per round. Thanks for your help.

You can load .45s for less than half the cost of new. If you want to get technical you can amortize the cost of the reloading equipment vs. the number of rounds per year.
What is your time worth? Most for us reload because we like to. The cost to reload a .45 is as follows - bullet .035 , powder .01, primer .012 if you already have the brass and figure your time as $0 then the cost is .057 per round or $2.85 per 50. About the cheapest factory .45 is around $7.00 to $8.00 for 50. HTH

Starline Brass is an excellent source of high quality brass. $89.50/1000 for 45 ACP.www.starlinebrass.com

If you buy new brass or ammo and reload the brass, you won't have to worry about the gun it was fired in, cleaning, depriming, etc. Since brass can be used so many times it is usually not included in the cost of the reloads.

When I was starting out with .45 Long Colt, I was slipped a couple boxes of ammo as part of the deal by a friendly sales guy. The ammo retailed for $22 a box. I must have reloaded that ammo about 8 or 9 times before I threw it away. I'm still working on 500 .45 LC cases which I bought from Starline 2 years ago.

When I started shooting .45 ACP I did pretty much the same thing. Bought some ammo and got 500 rounds of starline. In addition, I started picking it up at the range. You would be astounded at the number of people who let once fired brass lay on the concrete and dirt. I'm lucky that I shoot at a public range which allows people to pick up "their own" brass. This time of year I get some beautiful once fired 30-06, 300 WinMag, and .308 too.

Before I get too windy, what I wanted to say is to keep you eye to the ground at the ranges and even ask shooters if they are going to pick up their brass. A lot will pick them up (to be neat) and hand you a box full when they leave the range. I ended up with 3 big coffee cans full of .45 brass that way.

If you keep the rounds to mild target loads, you can reload them almost an unlimited number of times.

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